In Singapore, migrant coronavirus cases highlight containment weak link

FILE PHOTO: Migrant workers from Bangladesh and India are pictured inside a vehicle, before tighter measures are implemented to curb the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at Little India, in Singapore, April 5, 2020. REUTERS/Edgar Su

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - As Singapore wins global plaudits for its handling of the coronavirus, the disease has spread rapidly within its large migrant worker community, highlighting what rights groups say is a weak link in the city state's containment efforts.

Singapore has managed to mitigate the spread of the disease among its citizens by rigorous contact tracing and surveillance, earning praise from the World Health Organization. Infections within the migrant community, however, are mounting. As of April 14, out of 3,252 cases recorded in Singapore, 1,625 were linked to outbreaks in migrant worker dormitories.